[html4all] Accessible to whom (or to which groups) ?

[Philip Taylor (Webmaster)]

Gez Lemon wrote:
> On 25/10/2007, Philip TAYLOR
> <Philip-and-LeKhanh at royal-tunbridge-wells.org> wrote:
>> Maybe because it is an insular, parochial,
>> perspective ?  Would you be happy to see
>> a similar statement in an analogous document
>> that claims that accessibility is about making
>> web content accessible to black people, or
>> white people, or Muslims, or Jains, or Catholics ?
>> Surely the whole basis of our belief is that
>> the web should be accessible to /all/, not to
>> just one disadvantaged group ?
> 
> We're not comparing like with like. 

I was trying to, Gez.  In some societies, Muslims
are an oppressed minority; in another, black people
(and so on).  You /might/ argue that a Muslim could
elect to become non-Muslim if he or she so chose
(but I don't think you would); you couldn't argue
that a black person can elect to become non-black.
So Muslims, black people and people with disabilities
are all second-class citizens in some societies.  But
I think that neither you nor I would want to be
argue that any of these should be given /special/
treatment : rather, I (and I think you) would argue
that all should be treated equally, regardless
of race, creed, colour or disability.  And that is
why I dislike the divisive language of WCAG 1.0 and
WCAG 2.0 : I would like all of us who believe
in equality and equitability of treatment to state
that we believe that the web should be accessible
to /all/, not just to one particular group.

** Phil.